One of the best ways of celebrating Christmas is to ensure your table is beautifully set for the Christmas dinner. It is one of only a few times a year that the whole family are together and for this truly special occasion you can go as creative as you wish, especially if you decide on white and gold.

While the Christmas tree in most homes goes up about one month before, many hosts start planning the layout of the table. An elegant white and gold table is perfect for a large party or just a few family members getting together. It is by far the most affordable option for those on a budget since most homes already have a white dinner set, white tablecloth and white serviettes.

Achieve An Elegant Christmas Look

While table setting and decorations come naturally to some, others need a few guidelines, especially where to start. We follow one of the top designers as she gets going with planning her Christmas dinner table.

1. The heart of the table setting is the centre and once you have a striking centrepiece the rest almost shapes itself around it. If you have glass candlesticks they could be all you need at first, by lining up three down the centre you might be on your way to create a centrepiece nothing short of impressive.

2. Depending on the candlesticks you could plan on getting some scented candles, a hint of vanilla could be great as your guests take their seats, and it could give a lovely aroma to your home even before.

3. With the candles as your main piece, the nicest way to enhance the centrepiece is by using fresh cedar garland between the three candlesticks. Another great idea is low tiny fairy lights twirled in white chiffon. While the main colour of the table is white, it might be quite striking to add some green or red decorations for the effect.

4. Champagne and gold ribbons tied to ornaments are a fantastic way to add elegance to any table, although it is even more striking when used with white.

5. Why settle for only three candles, if you have more add them to the mix and create a true fest of light with smaller and larger candles all complementing each other. A simple tip if short on candle holders is to remember that they can easily be replaced by tall wine glasses turned upside down to give height to candles.

The final touches can be added via the beautiful serviettes, as with all elegant dinner tables the beauty lies in the attention to detail and when it is Christmas you are allowed to go a little overboard.

Great ideas are to make use a special serviette ring as it will be the first thing the quest sees apart from the centrepiece, and it is also the one thing everyone gets to use. Start planning your special dinner party now and have fun with decorating a truly elegant setting.

Before diving straight into inviting all the big bosses over for a formal dinner party, it might be best to first get to know all the tools of the trade. While most think it is all about planning the menu, it is actually a combination of things, starting from the place setting.

Casual Dinner Table Setting

The casual place setting is easy and can be remembered by children although it is important to repeat the setting in the same format to make everyone use to it. A few things worth remembering with the casual setting is that the knife blade should always face the plate since it prevents accidents when the knife is picked up. On the left of the plate is where the spoon, drinking glass, knife and the napkin belong.

Informal Dinner Table Setting

Slight more formal than the casual dining table setting the informal table have a few things added to it, which includes an additional spoon, salad fork, and the napkin moves.
With the few items added a casual setting can be transformed into an informal setting and the napkin can actually go anywhere, and should you wish to serve coffee the cup and saucer should be placed to the right top of the soup spoons. Remember this golden rule all liquids do go on the right side of the plate leaving the left for the solids.

Formal Place Setting

If you want to impress your important guests then the formal place setting also used at wedding receptions are the one to use. The formal place setting is one of the most commonly used for business and home dinners, although the place card is more seen at large business dinners. A few more things are added to the formal table setting starting with the glasses, extra knives, as well as a cup and saucer.

The Royal Place Setting

If it is a complete dinner setting plan you need, then the royal place setting is the one to follow, this is what you would need to use for inviting the royal family. When compared to any of the other settings it involves quite a few extra items, the number of glasses increase to five and include a sherry, red wine, white wine, champagne and water glass. Forks on the left side of the plate include a salad, fish and meat fork while the knives on the right correspond and are joined by a teaspoon, soup spoon and demitasse. The serviette is placed mostly on the left side of the plate, although it seems that again you are free to place it where you prefer. No matter the occasion once you know all the settings you can attend any function and know exactly what to expect, while at the same time you could arrange either a casual, informal, formal or royal dinner at your homebound to impress even the Queen herself.

Ever admired people who throw an artistic look together at a moment’s notice, they often described as the artistic type. It is the person who can create a stunning centrepiece from a few clippings of the plants in their backyard or use a bowl to lemons to brighten the entire room or grab a few shells to provide an eclectic look to any setting. It is these designs enhanced by elements of nature that can also provide an upgrade to the decoration of any room in your home, they cost nothing, or they are most affordable depending on what you buy, and yet they make a world of difference.

Decorating the Table for Guests and Beyond

While most hostesses pre-order a bunch of expensive flowers to ensure the dinner table are sensational, it is often the host using fresh produce that makes a lasting impression. Pomegranates and lemons are easy to dry, so should you use these in a class ball today for the dinner table decoration it could afterwards become beautiful decorations for your corner table or more permanent decorations in a glass vase on the shelf. To dry out lemons or pomegranates, you simply need to place them near a bright window to dry out on their own. Most dry out beautifully and dried produce last for years. The benefit is that you can mix dried produce, so you can continue adding to the selection and add some to wooden bowls, display them in a variety of containers or decorate concrete planters.

The Wonders of the Ocean

It is not only beach houses that can benefit from seashells, but they also make an interesting display in any home. The easy to collect during the holiday and sensational should your next dinner party be a set of white and blue. It’s perfect to freshen up the table or incorporate a fresh feel, while these are reusable and when they, not part of the table decoration they are awesome to use with candles in any other room such as the bathroom. It is one of the most natural elements used in designing. It can be used with anything else and always reminds of the wonder of nature and the calmness of the ocean.

The Power of the Flower

The beauty of blooms and greenery can never be underestimated, and should you feel like having fresh flowers on the dinner table, then do consider drying those afterwards. Dried flowers can be used with fresh flowers or even brighten up by a few clippings of green. For an antique feel to a special dinner setting the dried flowers coupled with lavender are simply sensational, and it adds an element of both nature and simple sophistication. A giant bouquet of flowers still have its power, yet for a classic setting a whimsical fern or few flowers can provide a statement of evergreen, so use the elements provided by nature to theme your next dinner party so you can have some fun decorating the table.

If you are someone with an extremely small bathroom, there’s no need to worry, as we have loads of bathroom ideas to assist you. It doesn’t matter how compact your bathroom is, we are confident that you’ll find a chic design to perfectly suit your needs.

A small bathroom can be practical, stylish, and with the right guidance, space-efficient. The best advice we can give you is to make your bathroom look significantly bigger by utilising neutral colours that run up the walls, along the floor, and even continue onto your loo and bath. This will essentially create an impression of never-ending space as opposed to breaking up the small bathroom into several areas, making the room feel more boxed in.

You can also consider installing a skylight to further open the bathroom, creating airy space and more light. White furnishings will assist in bouncing light throughout the room which means you can incorporate personality with a handful of captivating accessories. The key to a small bathroom is lighting. You can include task lighting alongside mirrors or place dimmable light options behind a bath to create mood and drama.

There’s absolutely no need to keep a small bathroom minimalistic and plain. If you are someone that loves vintage style, go for it. To stop a bathroom from feeling cluttered, use clever storage compartments to maintain a feeling of sophistication and space. Let’s look at a few more ingenious ideas you can use in a small bathroom space.

Wallpaper a cloakroom

The best way to disguise a small bathroom is to draw attention with a striking wallpaper. Should you have a shower or bath, as oppose to a cloakroom, ensure you purchase a wallpaper that is specifically made for bathrooms that can deal with warm, damp conditions.

Buy multi-functional and freestanding furniture

A limited floor space shouldn’t limit your creative flair. Should your bathroom be on the small side, look for freestanding furniture that will allow you to move it around whenever you feel like it. Freestanding seating and storage will allow you to change the scheme whenever you like, and unlike fitted units, you can easily take the freestanding furniture when you need to move.

Trick your eyes with tiles

What the eye perceives and the amount of space you have aren’t always the same thing. Play with the perception boundaries by tiling the wall and the side of your bath with the same tile design. This makes it difficult to determine where each begins which in turn makes the space feel much bigger.

Purchase tall tiered storage

Tiered storage stands keep practical wash bags and luxurious packaged lotions on show and it also makes them easy to grab while in the bath. Should space be extremely limited, you can also tote the tiered stand from one bathroom to another when required.

Install wall-hung units

Fittings that float visually maximize the space as you can see more of the bathroom floor and it makes it easier to clean the bathroom.

Most people know when the inside of their house needs a make-over or just a bit of refreshment, although the cost involved are often higher than their budget allows. Yet there are plenty of tricks that can add character and personality to your living room without getting you to overspend. Two Londoners that were cash-strapped and knew how hard it can be just to get -by shared how they place a personal stamp on their home.

Their tips are great for those who are renting, which often makes it even harder to add style on a strict budget. It is the smallest changes, done in the correct way that often makes changes goes the longest way.

Never Skimp on the Quality of Paint

Once you get permission to give the living room a lick of paint, nothing is as tempting as grabbing the tin of high street paint showing off the most attractive price tag. But, think twice as it is so much less cost-effective than you could expect.

The budget price pains are lower in quality and often requires several layers unless used after a separate undercoat is applied for it to make any kind of impact. For this reason, investing in good-quality paint ensures the results desired after the first coat and in the end, it costs a lot less.

Keep an Eye Out for Pieces on The Street

If you are the kind of person that is big on beverages, your living room needs an occasional table, although this doesn’t mean you need to visit your local furniture dealer in order to pick up something that goes perfectly with your current interior style. Look at other options like boxes, pallets or crates displayed correctly these can make quite the statement pieces and at the same time bring a sense of character to your home. What you find on the street can be upcycled with varnishes or paint while added details such as legs or wheels allow you to keep the industrial rustic look, which could have a bigger impact on the rest of the room than you could’ve ever imagined.

The Fun Starts Once You Upcycle with Colour

Instead of throwing out some of the old tired looking pieces of furniture only having to replace them, try reinventing them with a blast of fresh colour. For the same price as that of a pot of paint, you can create a unique and original item personalised to your style and taste. It is so rewarding and far more affordable at the same time.

Make the Charity Shop Your Hang Out

The charity shot is a tried and tested option to find great things at unbelievable prices and should you walk in at the right time you too can have an abundance of options. The options at most include from chests to trunks, most of these pieces hardly show any wearing, and once you placed your personal stamp on them they could look fantastic.

As your choice of friends and fashion so does the way you choose to decorate your home have a reflection of your personality. Basically, everything starting with what you order from Starbucks to the way you dress defines who you are as a person, your personality and what you love. How you style your home connects directly to what you like around you, who you are, and lastly how you want others to perceive you. As a matter of fact, at times we make some of the interior decorating choices in clothes or furniture consciously, we select wild patterns that say hey here I am, look at me, and then at other times we not as aware of the message we send out to the world.

What Bright Scatter Cushions, Throws and Blankets Reveal About You

Decorating with lots of cute scatters cushions, colourful throws and blankets indicate a desire to make visitors feel right at home and it reveals that others are welcomed in your space. Homes that lacks in the lounge/sitting room could, on the other hand, indicate that the decorator prefers solitude above that of companionship unless the person is just starting out.

Love the Art Deco? This is What it Says About You

A preference for Victorian style furniture and decoration is normally favoured by someone who would like others to perceive them as elegant and sophisticated. A love for Art Deco reveals a person that is either a deep thinker or very arty, sometimes a combination of both. Clean designs, bare counters in the kitchen, few decorations if any indicates a type A personability, which is a person who places appearance far above functionality.

Neutral Designs

Many home creators select sort of a blend of two styles while other prefer neutral, not too modern not to traditional, which indicates a peacemaker since the person like a mixture of everything.

Colours Selected

We all know the importance of selecting the perfect colour, especially for your living room where you will welcome and enjoy the company of your friends. Here is what the colour you choose says about your personality. Red is the colour only highly physical people are brave enough to choose and it indicates that they enjoy life and experience it via all five senses. People selecting purple often need spirituality, emotional security and it indicated that the person wants order and is probably a perfectionist.

Yellow is the colour of individuals not scared to show their individuality via logic. Orange is the colour for those who are extremely sociable and thrive on the respect and acceptance of others. Brown indicates a need for a comfortable life surrounded by loved ones and family.

Furniture could also reveal more than you want, especially if you a single guy with a bright zebra-striped couch, it might confirm your preference in partners. Pinstripes are classic and indicate class while it also indicates that your life is organised and together. So, in the end, poor choices in decorations might indicate poor choices in life, so the pressure is on choosing something really like, and if it too expensive rather wait until you have saved, it will reveal something about for the rest of the time you owe it.